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Close Out

During quiet time recently, Holy Spirit revealed to me that we’re coming into a time of “judgment” and “settlement.” The gavel of God is falling, and He’s so kind to warn us.

There are going to be releases and reinstatements. Relocations and redemptive relationships. And everyone must rise.

God is bringing a close to resistance and strongholds for many who have struggled for a long time. Where the enemy tried to close in on His beloved like a shark, God is shutting him out. 

God is a closer.

I was reminded of a popular baseball closer, named Craig Kimbrel, who was once with the Atlanta Braves. Craig threw so fast and hard, he was nicknamed Flamethrower and was credited with a high number of saves.

Fans knew that when Flamethrower was announced at the ballpark, it was game over. Crowds went wild. Lights blazed and sirens sounded as Craig walked onto the field. 

He would take his position on the mound, throw a few fastballs and strike out the opposition. Craig, the flamethrower, made it look easy. And he didn’t even get dirty.

Similarly, God has been warming up to save His people from long-term opposition. We’re upon a time now when God will reverse the flame right back to the enemy’s camp, shutting out the gas-lighting spirit and fast-tracking His people forward into greater good.

The key is to be found faithful, and Holy Spirit reminded me that faithfulness comes after repentance.

Therefore, now would be a good time to make an intentional effort to invite Him to search our hearts and repent of any wrongdoing He convicts us of. 

This may include any flesh reactions to afflictions, such as bad attitudes, sharp words, inappropriate judgments, unforgiveness and the self-justification of it all.

For those who have knowingly and willingly afflicted others, Holy Spirit revealed to me that He’s turning His “nope” into “hope” when they lay down their resistance and repent. 

Holy Spirit was especially referring to the masked ones, who have “a form of godliness but deny its power” (2 Ti 3:5). And lukewarm believers with divided hearts, who are holding onto their own ways, while attempting relationship with Him and others. 

Revelation 3:16 reminds us that God will spit them out of His mouth. Remember, too, that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble,” according to James 4:6. 

He has been looking at our hearts to rightly judge along His full spectrum of justice. He’s looking for those to bless and determining where they need to be and with whom (2 Ch 16:9).

Very soon, those who do not walk closely with God may be surprised, or even shocked, at their outcomes. 

It’s time to lay down the false gods, including the god of self, and remember that the only way we can please God is by authentic faith in Him. 

Jesus wasn’t selfish. His attitude was to save a world of other people at His expense. His heart was dedicated to our Heavenly Father and His purposes.

Holy Spirit also impressed my heart that there are some Jacobs, who will finally receive more of their outward blessings of Abraham. Their wrestle has come to an end and it will be no more. God is flaming out their spirit of defeat. 

In general, where the opposition may have tried to preclude God’s people, which was to make life impossible through consequences and rule-out blessings in advance, God has overruled and overturned the impossible.

Where the opposition may have tried to exclude God’s people in the past, which was to bar them from participation, consideration or inclusion, Holy Spirit is inviting them closer to receive even better than what they had before. 

Where the opposition may have tried to close in, which was to oppress and isolate God’s people, Holy Spirit has turned their experience into incubation for transformation and is now bringing them into new arenas for outward expressions of exponential blessing.

God doesn’t want to leave anyone out.

He has already been working to establish new boundaries. He’s even about to bring some properties to close and settle some long-awaited promises. Already, He’s opening the eyes of decision-makers to His truth that’ll cause them to make new decisions in favor of His beloved.

A key strategy in all of this, in addition to coming closer to God and getting our hearts right with Him, is to let Him work it out His way and in His time. 

It won’t be long now.

Pretty soon, many will realize that God has, indeed, heard their cries during their patient wait in affliction (Ps 40:1).

To Him be all glory, honor and praise. Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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A New Path

Very recently, in the late afternoon, I walked up to my kitchen window and an unusual movement caught my eye. It was a large owl struggling to reach for something beneath a thick layer of ground cover. When the owl saw me, it flew up into a tall tree next door. 

I sensed in my spirit that our Lord was using this symbol of nature to reveal something more to me. So, I asked Him what He desired I know. 

He led me to a key scripture, which was Ecclesiastes 7:11. It says, “Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun” (NIV). 

A few days later, Holy Spirit awakened me early in the morning. As I stood looking out the same window, I saw the light of dawn stream through the trees—beyond where the owl had been—highlighting a new path in the most peaceful, inviting way (Ja 5:11).

With this, our Lord spoke a message to my heart for whosoever:

There is a new path of righteousness opening up for you as you continue to work with Me to bring new order right where you are. The way there is insight and diligence in this order. 

Can you see the light streaming through the edge of the wilderness, showing you the new way to go? Inviting you to join Me there and explore it with Me? 

I AM giving you an entrance onto your new path to righteous fruit. 

Until now, you have seen this in your imagination as I have revealed it to you. But going forward, you will experience more of the outworking of My awesome wonders.

The work I have done in your heart to enable you to see as I see is, in itself, an awesome wonder of light and life. And now, My light in you is drawn to this new path.

It’ll be better than you know now, because I’ll reveal more to you as you join Me. And it’ll happen in ways that once seemed far-reaching and even impossible for so long. 

I have required of you to lay down the limits of value and vision you’ve lived under for a long time that will be no more. To you, they seemed small and unimportant to Me. But I can make small things great in My Kingdom, and I have greatness for you.

As you continue to lay down that which I require of you, I’ll open new doors for much better and much bigger. For I AM continuing to grow you and causing you to build with Me. And I AM also causing that which never should have been to fall away completely. 

What hindered you in the past will not go with you. 

As you have sought My face, I AM giving you a new face, a new countenance of assuredness, a new posture with which to face the new world you are coming increasingly into. Nothing can dis-pose you as you walk with Me.

Just as I have turned darkness to light for you, I have new appointments for you forward. The time is very near for you to enter into new partnerships that will produce righteous fruit. So, continue to lay down all the dis-appointments of your past and step into your re-appointments for My glory. 

Be glad for the benefits I have for you and don’t reject them out of false guilt. You are forgiven and anointed and appointed. You are about to experience, increasingly, My redemption in your everyday life—a new fullness of joy and multiplicity. 

You have come through the preparation by revelation of My truth. And now, it’s time for you to come into the outward elevation, which is your redeemed future.

You will be able to withstand the new light, as you make Me your first Light. I’ll remain with you, so position yourself with Me. Let there be no dis-position. Continue to resist sin all the way to the finish line of your transition and receive My blessings.

Friends, pray with me if you will . . . 

Dear Lord,

Thank You for who You are, for Your redemptive nature to rescue and bless me. Thank You for inviting me onto your new, righteous path. I choose to join You there, full of light and life, Your beauty and peace (Jn 9:5). Thank You for enabling me, by Your generous grace of wisdom, to experience it all with You (Ja 1:5 TPT).

In Jesus’ Mighty Name, 

Amen. 

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Fighting Away

Have you noticed that your old fights have lessened as you’ve come increasingly into God’s wisdom (Ja 4:1)? 

I’m amazed how God lightens our loads and brings change for the better as our hearts are made more right with Him—when all we feel toward past afflicters is mercy; and He releases us into more of His joy and glory, as we keep our eyes on Him.

Holy Spirit is breaking open His greater glory for those who’ve had to fight through, reminiscent of Jesus on the cross when He realized a glimpse of the joy set before Him, saying, “Forgive them for they know not what they are doing” (Lk 23:34). 

The finish line is where the value of purposed tribulation is broken open and realized. It’s where God releases His greater good exponentially.

He has made us ready for the outward shift into a more glorious realm.

In particular, this is a time where we’ll come to know God as our burden bearer in a new way. There’s a lifting happening, where we’ll experience His faithfulness to meet needs more swiftly in the outworking of His promises. 

It’s a new time and place of awesome wonder, where we can put our trust in Him to prove out what He has done in us behind the scenes.

Even as Jesus asked that the cup be taken from Him and then intentionally submitted to Heavenly Father’s process for the greater glory, Father God has seen our yield to His ways and has firmly decided that it’s enough (Matt 26:39).

God has grown us into His appointed time and place that are in eyeshot before us. Within nine months, many will be fully released from what God has been working for them all along. 

Believe it.

Just as Jesus’ journey began in a humble setting and ended on high, so, too, will Holy Spirit lead us to follow His path to completion for a new beginning. Former assignments will end, leaving us with exponentially more than where we began. To this, God will add even more forward to offer all that’s needed to flourish in new assignments. They will involve a distinct ending and a distinct new beginning at two separate times. 

Regarding our former places and times, I hear The Lord say, “Don’t worry about what was or what could have been or should have been. This is the enemy’s trap. For I have made you wiser, so continue to follow My wisdom and leave all else to Me.”

God is exalting many with a powerful new mantle to see miraculous breakthrough for others forward. What has been hard for them will be made easy as God’s power flows through His anointed ones. 

Those who reach for God will receive their rescue. And it will be mighty.

I hear the Lord say, “I have built you for this and you are ready. You will be in position to help others fight the good fight of faith and experience breakthrough, because I have taught you firsthand how to do it. You will hear My voice and understand what to do next. Your new prayer will be, ‘Lord, in it all, make them stronger in You as You have made me.’ For I AM the One who saves and I shall rescue them.”

I hear The Lord say that He has commissioned you to go forth and do as He would do. He has given you the breaker anointing to see others set free. And it will be a joy to your heart, as it is to His. 

I hear The Lord say that “There is a holy ease to your new assignments. Darkness will tremble when you walk in. It will fall away as you are led by Me and continue to follow Me. Just as I delivered you out of places of darkness, it will have no place in them. You will walk in victory, as I AM victory and have set victory before you. I have made you into My Joshua and you will go forth and win battle after battle, as you continue to obey Me. For there is no lack in My victory.”

I sense God is also forewarning us to be mindful to not step into invitations that are not of Him, like the proposition the Gibeonites made to Joshua. God is under no obligation to fight such entanglements, because He doesn’t honor the idolatry of ways outside of His own. It must be HIS plan with His orders all of the way. So, let’s not endanger ourselves or mislead others by getting off course to “help” in ways that are not specifically of God for us.

He and His ways are enough. He has preserved us for such a time as this, and we can do it with Him. We need only to believe, take courage and step out with Him.

So, Lord, let it all be according to Your will. Lead us and show us the way to go. To You be all glory, honor and praise. Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Finishing Up

God likes good endings.

If we pay attention, as we work right alongside Him, we can see that He’s finishing up loose ends to complete some promises He made to us awhile back. In this, we can remember that every finish line He brings us to is a victory marker for His grace of a new beginning. 

God has some surprise blooms for us as His ways continue to prevail. He’s giving us a new outlook as He lightens our loads and makes life more enjoyable.

I believe many will hear the echo of Matthew 25:21 NIV: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

As we have kept our eyes on Jesus and delighted His heart, He’ll continue to bring us into rewards. 

Many are stepping into the outworking of true freedom they’ve never had. What seemed to allude them their whole lives will finally be theirs. All the deep work was leading up to a better life and even public expressions of God’s glory.

I believe our Lord would say to His beloved, “Continue to step into the light and do not fear. I’m with you all the way.”  

It’s imperative that we remain faithful throughout. Because, when we slip into fear, we tend to do things our way, opting for impatience and taking the reins away from God. After all, we’ve been waiting a long time. And sometimes, it feels easier on our flesh to trust our reality of personal experiences more than God in the unknowns. 

But don’t fall for this temptation to give up on God.

Paul is quick to warn us through Galatians 3:3-4 NIV, saying, “Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain?” 

The word “flesh” here means opposition to Holy Spirit. And the word “experienced” here means suffered. So, Paul is, essentially, asking the Galatians: After all you’ve been through, are you so mindless and unwise to think that you can turn away from God and still win?

Also, in Galatians 6:8 NIV, Paul reminds us that “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” 

It’s a John 10:10 choice of God’s ways over any other way, including our own. And we’ll be tested in this, as Holy Spirit ties up loose ends and escorts us more fully into the new He has for us (Ga 5:13).

Paul strongly encourages us to make the suffering we endured count for more than surviving prolonged pain. 

The heart of Jesus is that we trust Him to bring us all the way to His finish line in His way and time and enter into His outward blessings as our new reality, which is a beautiful and honorable reflection of Him (Ga 6:9).

Just as brighter lights and elevated roles await runners who cross the finish line of victory, God is turning up His light on those who were faithfully refined by His Glory fire in the last season and have completed their courses. They’ll begin anew and join others, who also aligned with God. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV has been on repeat lately and says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Even as I hear Mac Powell’s New Creation song (again on repeat), many are beginning to see distinct changes for which they have prayed. God is on the move and many will even experience physical relocations to new places, events and roles they’ve dreamed of for a long time as God’s grace comes into place. 

For many, there will be a sense of coming full circle, with relationship dynamics made better than before, because of the deep grace work God has done over the years in people’s hearts. Many will see, even more, that God has built them in wisdom and expanded their reach. 

Many will experience God’s kindness in new ways, new areas and on new levels. It may feel strange at first due to all the past hardships. But God desires that we leave it all behind and step into it as it awaits us, without hesitation; because this is the future for which we have prayed. 

Not only will you have help for the near future but also for right now. God is surprisingly stirring people to help with tasks at hand. They may even be people who wouldn’t have stepped up in the past but are now ready. Part of their motivation is God’s new grace making their lives easier, too. I believe we’ll see a lot more of this as He continues to bring us more into His wholeness.

So, we can keep expecting God’s best and continue to pray His protection over these helpers and ourselves as He progresses us.

To Him be all glory, honor and praise. Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Foundations Lifting

I’m seeing evidence of people getting unstuck from areas they stepped into in the past season. For some, it’s happening little-by-little. For others, it’s happening suddenly. 

God is lifting off former weights and breaking us into new places full of bloom.

Holy Spirit revealed to me that He’s releasing grace to those who have felt trapped and weighed down with the cares of this world when they turn their eyes back upon Jesus and release it all. 

God desires to break us out of the double-vision and double-mindedness that distracts us from a full focus on Him and dilutes His power in our lives. Spirit, soul and body, God is freeing us to remain with Him on a narrow path of destiny.

In this journey, it’s important to remember what Paul says in Philippians 4:4-9 NIV, which is to:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

What’s especially interesting here is that Paul writes these encouraging passages from a prison in Rome. He knew what confinement and escape felt like, but Paul also knew how true freedom worked. Yes, he understood to trust God to deal with circumstances around him. But he also understood that the same Kingdom of God in his heart surrounded him as the greatest Presence (Lk 17:21 AMPC).

Paul knew that anything less than God had no greater power over him. He knew how to fight against the spirit of darkness by leaning into the Spirit of God. Paul understood how to stand on the Rock and praise God in the face of impossible and all that would try to come against. He knew that the attitude that honors God invites His blessings. He knew Jesus as his secure foundation. 

So, how can we fully dwell with God when the foundation of the heart has cracks of un-resolve? How can we praise God and have a right attitude toward one another if we’ve allowed darkness into our hearts, possibly even from an early age when we didn’t even know better? After all, Luke 6:45 tells us that from the heart the mouth speaks. 

When we don’t dwell with God consistently, it’s easy to drift into gray areas, like worry. Sometimes, it’s so subtle, we don’t notice it. But eventually, dwindle and delay get our attention. Worry is an open door to a stranglehold. When we find ourselves in a stranglehold, it’s difficult to praise God with our mouths, like Paul (and Silas) did when they were supernaturally released from prison. 

Jesus clearly tells us twice in John 14:1, 27 NIV to not let our hearts be troubled.

So, if you have a troubled heart, it’s time to simply allow Holy Spirit to restore your foundation by shining His light on any area(s) of your heart that you’ve forgotten about or cordoned off from Him out of fear or trauma. 

That’s what I did many years ago when Holy Spirit revealed an old wine cellar of darkness in my heart in the area of marriage. He was bringing me into new wine but, before I could progress, He had to restore hope in my heart in this area.

When I chose to trust Him enough to let Him touch my trauma, He lifted me with His light and life again. And He’ll do the same for you. 

So, if you need Holy Spirit to fix your foundation, pray with me now:

Dear Lord, 

I turn to You this day as my solid Rock, and hand You all of the pieces of my life. I release over to You every weight of worry and its effects. I renounce all darkness and cancel evil’s plans against me. I choose to trust You and invite You into my soul to fix and fill every void, nothing withheld. I welcome You to search my heart and restore it all to Your wholeness. 

Help me keep my eyes on You and see the higher joy that You have for me now and forward. Help me know Your peace as my guard.

Thank You for Your mercy and grace that meets me and lifts me with a restored foundation so I can bloom in honor of You.

In Your Holy Name, Jesus, I pray.

Amen. 

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.